`Crucify' Provenzano, Lawmaker Says

Comment Draws Rebuke From Chairman

October 7, 1999|By David Cox TALLAHASSEE BUREAU

TALLAHASSEE - A Central Florida lawmaker said Wednesday that if death-row inmate Thomas Provenzano suffers delusions of being Jesus Christ, maybe he should be crucified instead of being killed in Florida's electric chair.

Rep. Howard Futch, R-Melbourne Beach, made the comment as the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Council was hearing an update on the Orlando killer's case from Deputy Attorney General Richard Doran.

The comment prompted council Chairman Victor Crist, R-Temple Terrace, to bang his fist on the table to end the conversation. Crist then said ``Howard,'' in a loud, stern voice and shook his head, giving Futch a fixed stare.

After a few seconds of silence, the meeting continued with a nervous laugh or two from some council members.

Futch, a supporter of the death penalty, later told a reporter he should not have made the comment. Still, he offered to pound Provenzano's cross into the ground of Florida State Prison if that's the way to put him to death.

``I just got carried away. My attitude is if this guy thinks he's Jesus Christ, I'm all for crucifying the [expletive),'' Futch said.

Crist said after the meeting that Futch's comment was inappropriate. He said Futch, like many others, is frustrated about how long it has taken to execute Provenzano. While the comment was ``disconcerting in its insensitivity,'' Crist said, ``everybody understood it was Howard.''

Provenzano is on death row for the 1984 murder of Orange County bailiff William Wilkerson after he went on a shooting spree at the old courthouse. Two other bailiffs were injured in the shooting.

Provenzano survived his first death warrant in 1989 in a series of court appeals. He was again scheduled to die in July. But that execution was delayed after Jacksonville killer Allen ``Tiny'' Davis suffered a nosebleed during his execution a day before Provenzano's scheduled death.

Even though the Florida Supreme Court recently upheld the electric chair's use, Provenzano's execution has been further delayed because the court ordered a second hearing to determine if he is mentally competent to understand why he is being executed.

Provenzano suffers delusions of being Christ and thinks the state wants to crucify him, defense attorneys say. His competency hearing is scheduled for next week.